A Telugu psychiatrist, Dr. Vidyasagar Vangala, based in Florida, the US, working Medical Director of Mid-Florida Psychiatry Center with faculty appointments at NOVA Southeastern University and Barry University. The doctor is perturbed with the absence of such facilities to save the precious lives of farmers who take to the extreme step with emotional reasons.
The doctor was recently in India, and also spoke to a few farmers in his district to find that several of them were on the verge of committing suicide.
Dr. Vangala has now decided to get in touch with the farmers directly in his area through a group of friends and offer counseling free of cost. “It pains me that most of these suicides can be prevented with a session or two by the psychiatrists….If I can save at least two or three suicides also I will be happy,” says the alumnus of Osmania Medical College and a Fellow of American Psychiatric Association (FAPA). First awareness has to be created on identifying the symptoms of depression and suicidal tendencies, and the availability of resources. Family members or friends can easily identify and then guide them to psychiatry help”, says the doctor.
All it takes is a few minutes of counseling to prevent the burgeoning suicide of farmers but unfortunately it isn’t even recognized as a solution here, leave alone adopting it. He feels Government should play a key role in creating awareness about the availability of resources as it is easy to intervene before suicides happen. With the access of smartphones or basic mobiles, he feels it is easy to counsel from any part of the world through tele-psychiatry.